The use of computers (and also netbooks, notebooks and tablet like devices) within computer networks such as the Internet is constantly growing. Additionally, mobile phones (“smartphones”) are becoming more powerful and are increasingly providing functionality similar to more traditional computer systems.
Security within such computer networks is important as users wish to exchange personal information such as usernames and password with trusted websites. In such a context it is becoming increasingly important to protect against computer network attacks.
One of the most prevalent network attacks used against individuals and large organizations alike are man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks. Considered an active eavesdropping attack, MITM works by an attacking host computer device establishing connections to victims' machines and relaying messages between them. In cases like these, one victim believes it is communicating directly with another victim, when in reality the communication flows through the host computer device performing the attack. The end result is that the attacking host can not only intercept sensitive data, but can also inject and manipulate a data stream to gain further control of its victims' computer devices.
A further network security issue is provided by the practice of “phishing”. In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging, and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Even when using server authentication, it may require tremendous skill to detect that the website is fake. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to fool users, and exploits the poor usability of current web security technologies. Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures.
It is an objection of the present invention to provide a method of identity verification that overcomes or substantially mitigates the above problems.